Aston Villa confirmed tonight that Gérard Houllier has been appointed as their new manager, bringing to an end their protracted search for a replacement for Martin O'Neill. Houllier has agreed a three-year contract and is expected to bring in Patrice Bergues, who worked alongside him at Liverpool and Lyon, as his assistant manager.

Houllier, who held talks with the French Football Federation earlier in the day to discuss his decision to step down from his role as technical director, said he is excited about the challenge of managing Villa.

"I am very happy and proud to join this great and historic club," Houllier said. "It was a very difficult decision for me to leave the FFF but I could not turn down the opportunity to manage a club whose approach, both on and off the pitch, I have long admired. Aston Villa is one of England's biggest clubs and has an amazing set of fans. This is a tremendous challenge and one I am very much looking forward to taking on."

Houllier arrives at Villa Park with a decorated CV. The 63-year-old has managed Lens, Paris St-Germain and Lyon and won three French championships. He also spent six years in charge of Liverpool, between 1998 and 2004, and won the League Cup, FA Cup and Uefa Cup in 2001. Houllier had two spells as the technical director of French football and was regarded as a key figure behind France's World Cup triumph in 1998.

Villa believe that wealth of experience will help them to continue to progress after securing three successive top-six finishes under O'Neill. "Two of the key qualities in our search for the new manager were experience of managing in the Premier League and a strategy for building on the existing strengths in our current squad, and Gérard Houllier comfortably satisfies these criteria," said Paul Faulkner, Villa's chief executive. "In fact, he stands out as a football man who understands the ethos of our club and shares our core values.

"We look forward to working with Gérard and supporting him and we ask our supporters to get behind the new manager and the team as we look to build on the progress we have made over the past four years in all areas of the club."

It remains unclear at this stage whether there will be a role for Kevin MacDonald in the new set up. The 49-year-old took over on a caretaker basis when O'Neill quit five days before the start of the season and was interviewed for the manager's job this month after eventually expressing a wish to be considered for the position. He was previously employed as the reserve team manager at Villa.